From horror to erotica and colours of life!

Friday the 13th. Enter, # 13 Margosa Mahal… It's a hair-raising experience and involves tickling all the 5 senses. Granted it's a play, but the intent is, well horrific! Actor PD Sathish Chandra first wanted to stage this play on November 13 last year. The play, of course, opened to brimming and beyond-house full. "But for various reasons, we missed the date with 13th," says Sathish adding, "This year, we're keeping the date with horror, and so are staging it today, in April and then in July at Kala Soudha.All performances on Friday the 13th!"Sathish had seen several thrillers, but never a horror play in Bangalore. "The idea was to, well, get into your flesh, and we designed this 5D experience. Of course, we are staging it only thrice, because the cost of putting up the sets is whopping," guffaws Sathish.
# 13 Margosa Mahal Today, at KH Kala Soudha, 7.30pm
Enter the dragon
As we sit upright, The Golden Dragon enters to lift you with laughter and drown you in tears. You could return to the dragon's fold, starting today, all the way through to the 29th of this month. "It's part of our season play series in our intent to give audiences enough days to choose from to watch a performance," says Arundhati Raja, founder of Jagriti theatre. "I watched the Golden Dragon at Edinburgh, liked it immensely, so invited the German performers to Bangalore. Five actors play so many different roles… it's fun at times and sad at times…"
The Golden Dragon Jan 13 to 29 at Jagriti, Whitefield. Show Timings: Thursday to Saturday - 8pm, Sunday - 3pm and 6.30pm. No performance on Mondays.
Eternal colours of a painter
The essence of life comes alive, just the way Rumale Chennabasaviah has captured the flower, Star of Bethlehem , at its prime, within its shortlifespan of two hours at midnight. Sanjay M Kabe, Rumale's foster son, has exhibited a collection of watercolours by Karnataka's own Michaelangelo . "I refer to him as Angelo because Rumale was a man of many avatars - freedom fighter, social worker , legislator and editor of a newspaper ," says Sanjay. "He dabbled in so many things before he became a fulltime artist, and then walked 15 km every day, to observe and paint his subjects," says Sanjay Today, the yellow bloom, painted by Rumale in 1977, wears the same hues as it did decades ago. As you stand at NGMA observing this life-sized drama of watercolours , Rumale's works come alive, fresh and vibrant.
Varna Mythri - Rumale Chennabasaviah, a centenary perspective at NGMA, Palace Road, 10am to 5pm.
Gender-centric
And life seems normal, almost ecstatic. Even as two queer writers Minal Hajratwala and Kazim Ali, resist the idea of being normal. "Minal writes about the unicorn and Kazim is experimental - both push the boundaries of gender ," says Kareem Khubchandani, member of the LGBT community. In an attempt to raise a voice in Bangalore, not much of which has been done since the flag march last November, these writers turn the spotlight on windy, enjoyable, fun, sexy and bordering on erotica writing, today at Page Turners. Such are the colours of life…